Healthy is trending in the center store, with growth in fiber and protein leading this charge. While customers certainly still value longtime snack staples, the search for functional ingredients and bolder flavors is increasing, and retailers and their vendor partners are responding.
Snack bars, granola bars and clusters, according to market research firm Circana, for example, jumped in sales by 10.3% for the 52-week period ending May 17. In units, the segment increased by 3.6%. Rice/popcorn cakes saw an extreme increase of 319.9% in dollars and 354.4% in units, likely also due to a decrease in price per unit. Jerky, which inched upward in unit sales by just 0.2%, upped in dollars by 4.8%.
The salty snacks that increased in unit sales for the period include tortilla/tostada chips, other corn snacks, cheese snacks and pretzels.
Potato chips, however, dipped by 3.1% in units, and other salted snacks (not including nuts) decreased by 13.7% in units. Ready-to-eat popcorn/caramel corn and pork rinds both also saw unit sales declines.
For sweet snacks, cookies dropped 2.2% in units, fruit snacks following at a 2.1% dip.
FriendShip Stores, which operates 31 locations in Ohio, is noticing the broader trend toward health and function hit its snack shelves.
“The trends we are seeing are items that have protein and fiber listed on packaging. Customers are looking for products with less ingredients and cleaner ingredients. Another trend is items bringing a nostalgic feeling back to customers,” said Natalie Goldsmith, category manager for FriendShip.
Indeed, according to consumer insights company Brightfield Group, high fiber increased as a label claim consumers looked for in food and beverage at c-stores by 5% from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026. Low sugar increased as a claim by 5.8%. C-store shoppers are also increasingly interested in protein (up 2.7%).
At Texas-based, 25-store Roadtrac, with five locations under construction to be opened within the next year, customers are prioritizing protein-based snacks. Beef jerky, protein bars, trail mix and protein chips have grown in popularity.
“And there’s so many new players to the game now, so that’s a new thing that these consumers are really wanting to target, especially being health conscious nowadays,” said Zain Sunesara, partner at Roadtrac Stores.
Roadtrac increased its inventory with some of these protein items, such as protein bars, beef jerky and meat sticks.
Both Roadtrac and FriendShip noticed the influx of GLP-1 users contributing to the trend toward functional snacking.
These customers want items high in protein and fiber, Goldsmith noted.
Going forward, she believes protein-heavy items will continue to be added to shelves, as customer demand won’t be slowing any time soon.
Further demonstrating the uptick in healthier buys, Brightfield Group data found that year-over-year purchases of items such as individually wrapped snacking cheese and crackers in the convenience channel outpaced that of the general population.
Additionally, energy snacks saw a 2% growth rate for the period. Caffeinated snack bars saw a 1.1% lift.
Still, despite the increase in interest in function-forward snacks in the convenience industry lately, typical indulgent treats aren’t being left behind.
The same Brightfield Group data also found purchases of regular packaged cookies and packaged snack cakes in the convenience store channel outpacing the general population.
